#87 | DCX - Perspectives and insights on digital customer experience
Beyond the Rectangle: A Glimpse of the Screenless Future; Dive Into Screenless CX: 3 Tips to Begin; DCX Poll; Links to Industry news and the DCX Thought Leader Profile of the Week
Beyond the Rectangle: A Glimpse of the Screenless Future
The glow of screens has become ubiquitous in our daily lives, from the ping of the morning alarm to the late night Instagram scroll. But a shift is on the horizon that will fundamentally transform how brands connect with customers. Welcome to the era of Screenless Customer Experience.
As a customer experience trailblazer for over 20 years, I've watched technology progress from bulky desktops to sleek smartphones. But for all their capabilities, these devices constrain our interactions to bright rectangular portals filled with digital distractions. What if we could move beyond these limitations? What if we could integrate services directly into a customer's physical surroundings and daily journeys? That provocative question is what screenless CX aims to explore.
What is Screenless CX?
Envisioning a screenless future involves imagining a world where technology and information are integrated seamlessly into our physical environment, eliminating the need for traditional screens such as smartphones, computers, and TVs.
This concept is not about abandoning technology, but employing it more thoughtfully to enrich experiences. By blending innovations like spatial computing, augmented reality (AR), and ambient interfaces, screenless CX promises to revolutionize brand engagement across industries. No longer disconnected from the real world, digital information will seamlessly adapt to a customer's context and needs.
Here's how such a future might look:
Augmented Reality (AR) Glasses and Contacts: People could wear AR glasses or contact lenses that overlay digital information onto the physical world. This would allow individuals to interact with digital content projected into their field of vision, making screens redundant.
Virtual Reality (VR) for Immersive Experiences: VR could be used for education, entertainment, and work, providing fully immersive environments that replace the need for screens. This could involve more sophisticated VR headsets or even direct brain-computer interfaces that allow users to experience digital content with all senses.
Voice and Gesture Control: In a screenless future, voice recognition and gesture control technologies will become the primary means of interacting with digital devices and information. This would enable a more natural and intuitive way of engaging with technology, as people could simply speak commands or use hand gestures.
Spatial Computing and Smart Environments: Homes, offices, and public spaces could be equipped with sensors and smart devices that recognize and respond to the presence and actions of individuals. This would allow for information and services to be delivered exactly when and where they are needed, without the need for a traditional screen.
Holographic Displays: Holographic technology could be used to project 3D images into physical spaces, allowing for interactive displays and visualizations that don't require a physical screen.
Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs): BCIs could enable direct communication between the brain and digital devices, allowing users to control technology, communicate, and access information through thought alone.
This vision of a screenless future suggests a world where technology is even more integrated into our daily lives, yet in a way that feels more natural and less intrusive. It would represent a significant shift in how we design, interact with, and think about digital technology and information.
Revolutionizing Interactions
A wave of innovative technologies is paving the way. Smart glasses overlay digital information onto the real world, offering hands-free navigation and communication. Ambient interfaces transform walls, floors, and even furniture into responsive environments, adapting to your needs and displaying personalized information. Haptic wearables communicate through subtle vibrations, offering discreet interaction without relying on visuals.
Screenless CX promises a future brimming with solutions for:
Screen fatigue: Our constant need to stare at screens leads to fatigue and a desire for alternative solutions.
Accessibility: Screenless experiences can be more accessible for people with disabilities or those who lack access to devices.
Natural interaction: Interacting through voice, touch, or gestures can feel more natural and intuitive than clicking and tapping.
Context-awareness: Screenless experiences can be more context-aware, responding to the customer's environment and needs in real time.
A World of Possibilities
As a customer experience builder, the promise of screenless CX resonates deeply with my goal of forging meaningful brand connections.
Consider a few scenarios that illustrate the potential of screenless CX, transcending specific technologies and focusing on the overall user experience. They go beyond simply removing screens to showcase how immersive interactions and intuitive guidance can enhance various aspects of our lives. Consider a few scenarios that illustrate the potential.
Immerse yourself in history: Stroll through a museum, greeted by interactive exhibits that respond to your presence. Walls and displays come alive with augmented reality visuals and audio narration triggered by your location. Haptic feedback guides you through the exhibit, suggesting relevant pieces based on your interests.
Elevate your fitness journey: Step into a gym equipped with smart mirrors and ambient lighting. The mirror recognizes you and displays your personalized workout routine, guiding you through each exercise with voice instructions and adjusting difficulty based on your performance. The surrounding lighting dynamically changes to match the exercise intensity, creating an immersive and motivating atmosphere.
Dine with a futuristic twist: Arrive at a restaurant and scan the QR code on your table. Instead of browsing a physical menu, holographic projections appear above the table, showcasing dishes in 3D with detailed descriptions and dietary information. Order directly through voice commands or hand gestures, and receive real-time updates on your meal preparation through subtle vibrations on your bracelet. When your food arrives, augmented reality elements highlight key ingredients and cooking methods, offering a unique dining experience.
In these settings, digital enhancements react to the customer and environment without traditional screens acting as intermediaries. Information integrates directly into the physical contexts and journeys. The experience feels unified rather than fractured between the real and digital.
Embrace the Future, One Step at a Time
Transitioning to this screenless paradigm will not happen overnight. As an innovator in this space, I recognize achieving mainstream integration faces financial, technological and ethical obstacles. Many efforts remain in early pilot stages and concepts rather than commercially viable platforms. Privacy also emerges as a major consideration as technology grows more embedded in daily life.
However, waiting comes with the cost of lost opportunities to deepen connections with customers. Every brand interaction that feels transactional rather than meaningful represents a failure to build lasting engagement. With careful navigation, screenless CX provides a compelling route to enriching those brand ties.
Screens rose to prominence by promising endless information and entertainment. Yet we've reached an inflection point where these devices now constrain our experiences and overload limited attention. By starting to explore screenless alternatives, CX pioneers can write the next chapter of technological engagement.
The customer journey of the future promises intelligent responses, personalized guidance and choices consciously made. Our world may not transform overnight, but the closer we look beyond glowing rectangles, the more possibilities we uncover. For those ready to lead the shift, the screenless future beckons.
After the break, I’ll take you on a journey to build a strategy and start to experiment with screenless CX.
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Dive Into Screenless CX: 3 Tips to Begin
I hope the vision portrayed above has created and interest in exploring screenless CX. Transforming concepts into actions can seem daunting, but small, deliberate steps will propel your exploration.
Luckily, kicking off your screenless CX journey doesn’t require mastering futuristic technologies overnight. By taking a few deliberate steps, you can start building captivating experiences that go beyond the glass rectangles we stare at daily.
Here are 3 tips to get started:
Tip 1: Pinpoint Untapped Opportunities
Analyze your existing customer journey and identify touchpoints where screens cause friction. Consider areas like ordering, navigation, or recommendations. Could modalities like voice commands or haptic cues provide more seamless and accessible interactions? Targeting pain points will reveal the most impactful areas to pilot screenless alternatives.
Tip 2: Start with Accessible Technologies
No need to wait for unproven technologies before experimenting. Begin by project scoping pilots with widely accessible solutions like:
● Voice Assistants - Enable voice-based searching, recommendations, and transactions
● QR Codes - Share information and personalized offers without menu boards
● Location Beacons - Trigger contextual notifications as customers navigate sites
Tip 3: Partner with Specialists
Connecting with startups creating ambient interfaces, smart glasses, spatial computing and other innovations will catalyze your explorations. These partners can handletechnical builds, allowing you to focus on designing next-gen experiences.
The key is to start small, experiment, and learn as you go. Be open to new ideas, and don't be afraid to adjust your plans. With a clear goal, some planning, and a willingness to experiment, you can create amazing customer experiences that leave a lasting impression – without a screen in sight!
Let's dive into four experiments to bring your screenless vision to life:
Launch Your First Voice-Based Experience
One easy entry point is to pilot a small voice-based service, like a voice-activated ordering kiosk or customer support line. Start by identifying a contained environment to minimize variables as you test and learn.
Partner with a startup already working on conversational AI solutions tailored to your industry. They can handle the technical build while you focus on designing the experience.
Explore Ambient Personalization
Look at your physical locations and consider how spatial computing could deliver personalized messages unobtrusively. Smart mirrors that display custom recommendations when a customer walks by are just one example.
Start small by using gaze-tracking heatmaps to understand traffic flows and customer journeys within your spaces. This allows you to determine optimal placement for ambient messages.
Provide a Haptic-Powered Guide
Haptic interfaces allow you to communicate with customers through touch, an often overlooked sense. Imagine museum visitors receiving gentle vibrations guiding them between exhibits tailored to their interests.
Work with haptic technology partners to prototype wristbands, rings or other wearables. Use these devices to provide subtle navigation, communication, and recommendations within your locations.
Build Trust Above All
As screenless CX depends on embedded technology, privacy and responsible data use must remain top priorities. Conduct rigorous impact assessments for any project, and be extremely transparent about data practices. Allow guests to opt out of data collection easily. By keeping trust and transparency central to all efforts, you'll build ethical and sustainable screenless experiences.
Yes, diving into ambient interfaces and haptic guides requires some vision and courage. But focus on a few achievable steps rather than the end goal. Build possibilities from the stepping stones others ignore. That’s where the magic happens.
The Screenless Revolution
The screenless revolution promises to embed services directly into our surroundings, reacting intelligently without rectangular portals. While that future may still be unfolding, breakthrough products offering a glimpse are already here.
Smart Wearables
Nreal Air AR Glasses - These lightweight AR glasses overlay digital information onto the real world, allowing you to see things like navigation arrows, 3D models, and translated text without needing a smartphone screen. Perfect for hands-free assistance while walking, learning, or working.
Empatica Embrace Plus - This wristband tracks your emotions and physiological responses in real-time, providing insights into stress, relaxation, and overall well-being. It can even vibrate gently to guide you towards calmer states.
Sensate Focus Headband - This EEG-based headband helps you improve focus and attention by providing audio and visual cues based on your brainwave activity. Ideal for meditation, studying, or simply quieting your mind.
Haptic Labs HaptX Gloves - These advanced gloves deliver realistic touch feedback in VR and AR experiences, letting you feel virtual objects and textures with incredible detail. Imagine feeling the rough surface of a rock or the soft fur of an animal in the digital world.
Spectacles - These sunglasses from Snap Inc. capture photos and videos hands-free with a simple tap or voice command. Perfect for capturing quick moments on the go without needing to pull out your phone.
Interactive Environments
Microsoft HoloLens 2 - This mixed reality headset blends the physical and digital worlds, allowing you to interact with holograms in your real surroundings. Use it for design, training, collaboration, or even playing immersive games.
Samsung The Wall - This modular Micro LED display creates massive, seamless wall displays with stunning visuals and vibrant colors. Perfect for creating awe-inspiring presentations, showcasing artwork, or delivering immersive experiences.
Microsoft Surface Hub 2S - This large-format touchscreen computer is ideal for collaborative brainstorming, presentations, and meetings. Write, draw, and share ideas directly on the screen, fostering interactive engagement.
ARTECHOUSE - This innovative art institution combines art, technology, and sensory experiences to create immersive and interactive installations. Explore exhibits that respond to your movement, touch, and voice, blurring the lines between art and reality.
Meow Wolf - This immersive art experience transports you to fantastical worlds filled with hidden secrets, interactive elements, and captivating stories. Explore, discover, and be amazed by the creativity and detail poured into these unique environments.
Wellness & Fitness:
Mirror Fitness - Mirror Fitness: Work out without a phone or screen. Sleek mirror doubles as a display, offering various fitness classes led by pros. Use your reflection for form feedback, staying safe while maximizing results.
Peloton Guide - Peloton Guide: Camera-based training system. Voice & gesture control. Personalized coaching. No screen, just audio cues & visuals on wall. Tracks movements. Guides form, weight, & reps.
Tripp Vision - Tripp Vision: VR headset for guided meditation, mindfulness & stress reduction. Immersive visuals & 3D soundscapes with binaural beats. Explore stress relief, sleep improvement, focus enhancement & more.
Remember, these are just a few examples, and the possibilities for screenless experiences are constantly evolving. Keep exploring and stay informed about the latest innovations in this exciting field!
DCX LinkedIn Poll of the Week
This week, I asked our colleagues in the Customer Experience Professionals Group on Linkedin, Why do you love working in CX?
For many years, the narrative around Customer Experience emphasized its role in boosting brand loyalty and driving revenue. While these remain important outcomes, this week’s poll reveals a deeper, more intrinsic motivation driving today's CX professionals: the passion to make a meaningful difference.
A New Breed of CX Heroes:
A survey of over 160 CX professionals revealed that a staggering 60% find the greatest fulfillment in "driving meaningful change." This desire to create a positive impact on both the world and individual customers surpasses metrics like brand loyalty (11%), suggesting a shift in values within the CX community.
The Future of CX: Driven by Purpose, Fueled by Passion:
This shift in CX motivations signifies a move beyond transactional interactions towards experiences that resonate on a deeper level. By recognizing and nurturing the intrinsic desire to make a difference, CX leaders can harness a powerful force for positive change, both within their organizations and in the world at large. The future of CX isn't just about metrics; it's about fostering a sense of purpose and empowering professionals to become drivers of meaningful change.
Let's continue the conversation! Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. How can we further cultivate a purpose-driven culture within the CX profession?
Industry News, Ideas, and Insights
The Next Frontier in Customer Experience Design | BCG
Technology is rapidly changing, and companies must reimagine the customer experience to stay competitive. Five converging technology trends, such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality, will revolutionize CX. Companies can take action now to become leaders in this space. New technologies such as EQ-X and GenUI will help companies better understand and respond to customers' emotions and offer more personalized services.
Customer Service Trends 2024: 5 insights you can't Ignore (the-future-of-commerce.com)
Customer service is vital for businesses to weather uncertainty and create lifelong advocates. In 2024, trends include using AI to improve service and focusing on adding value for customers. Agility is key in a constantly-changing environment, and companies need to break down data silos for seamless, comprehensive service.
Gartner Identifies Three Top Priorities for Customer Service and Support Leaders in 2024
Gartner reports that self-service, GenAI, and customer journey analytics will be top priorities for customer service leaders in 2024. They plan to invest in employee-facing GenAI, experiment with new self-service capabilities, and use CJA to understand customer preferences. Gartner offers insights and tools for improving customer experience and managing costs.
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DCX Thought Leader Profile of the Week
Every week, I introduce you to another inspiring professional from LinkedIn who has the potential to make a significant difference in your life and career.
This week’s thought leader is Rebecca Hinds, Head of The Work Innovation Lab.
Rebecca Hinds is a passionate and innovative leader in the realm of technology, leadership, and the future of work. She is the leader of The Work Innovation Lab by Asana, a platform dedicated to helping organizations evolve and innovate their approach to work and meet the changing demands of the digital age.
Rebecca holds a PhD, Master of Science, and Bachelor of Science from Stanford University, where she developed an in-depth understanding of collaboration, innovation, and leadership principles. Prior to joining Asana, she co-founded Stratio, a company that focused on developing short-wave infrared sensors that are significantly more affordable than existing technology. She's also the founder of Hinds Consulting, which serves as a Future of Work Advisor.
Rebecca frequently shares insights on a number of topics, including SaaS, innovation, leadership, the future of work, and collaboration. Her work and insights have been featured in numerous publications, such as Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Forbes, Inc., and The Wall Street Journal.
Based in Stanford, California, Rebecca thrives on collaboration, evidence-based discussions, and pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the workplace. She continues to explore and develop new ways to help organizations improve productivity, innovation, and leadership as they adapt to the ever-changing landscape of work in the modern world.
Thank you for reading this week.
Please share with others you think would benefit.
One More Thing
I want to share some of the exciting content and programs that I have created for your personal and professional growth:
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365 Days of Accountability - Accountability Books, Journals, and Exercises
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I hope you find these programs useful. Let me know if you have any questions or need any further assistance.
-Mark